Ridge Meadows Pride mite girls win provincial title

On Canada Day weekend, the Ridge Meadows Pride completed a 43-0 undefeated season and won the B.C. mite select championship.

The team of 2009-born players finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 4-0 record behind a strong pitching staff effort that only gave up eight runs over the four games.

That clinched first place overall and a first-round bye in the knockout round.

On championship Monday, the girls took on South Surrey/White Rock in the semi-final. With strong defence, some timely hitting and a stellar pitching effort by Julia Waterman, they won 8-1.

The thrower went six innings while striking out 16 hitters while giving up two hits and a walk.

The Pride beat a tough Langley Wild squad 4-2 in the final. The game was scoreless in to the bottom of the fourth because of dominant pitching by Jasmin Tilley and outstanding defence on the left side of the infield by Bella-Rose Tyson and Rhaya Mooney.

Catcher Holly Ross made a key catch in foul territory on a pop-up and Tilley had a running catch by the foul line to end an inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Julia Waterman laced a single to right field. Sara MacDonald stepped to the plate and drove her home, thanks to some heads-up base running and a perfect slide at home.

Jada Manion crushed a triple in the bottom of the sixth to score Annalise Ramak and added to a lead the Pride would never relinquish.

The team also had three tournament gold medals over the season.

The were led by head coach Katie Ross and hitting coach Kelly Stead, both of the Garibaldi Softball Academy.

The Garibaldi Softball Academy is a partnership between Ridge Meadows Minor Softball Association and School District No. 42, which offers students the chance to hone their skills on the diamond in conjunction with developing their abilities to cope with stress and perform optimally at a high level.